A DMK delegation from the Puducherry led by party convenor MAS Subramanian urged the Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram today to either scrap the 10 per cent VAT imposed on cooked food and other consumer articles or to ensure rate of tax was brought down.

Subramanian said that in neighbouring state the rate of VAT was only two per cent while it was ten per cent in Puducherry.

This was hitting the consumers, business community and the State coffers was also not able to earn because of fall in business, he said.

The memorandum also wanted sanction of full statehood for Puducherry.

The Union Finance Minister was also urged to sanction special grants from the Ministry to Puducherry to develop infrastructural facilities as want of adequate infrastructures for last twenty years had been posing hardship.

No big industries had been started here as lack of infrastructures like good roads and traffic free zones had been standing in the way of development and hence funds were needed to develop infrastructures.